Fairy Ball
by BewitchedCupcake
Summary: A ball is taking place in recognition of the foundation of the guild, Who will take who?
1. Chapter 1

Fairy Ball, Chapter one: Introduction.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

So I waited. Master was going to make an announcement which meant the whole guild was crowded into one space. Me and my team - the strongest in the guild, might I add - were squashed up tightly together near the centre of the guild hall, each anticipating the speech more than the next. Well, apart from Natsu, who has the attention span of a rock and was admiring sa butterfly from outside the window. Typical. And so Makarov entered the room.

"You're probably wondering why I gathered you all here today. In a weeks time, the anniversary of the foundation of the guild will dawn, which is why..." Gramps face turned from informative to quite the opposite. "We're having a party!" he shriecked in delight as the majority of the guild cheered and raised their giant mugs of beer to the roof. Once again, typical. It's just like Macarov to gather the entire guild just to announce a party.

"Not just a party, but a ball!" The numbers cheered louder. Hold on a minute... A ball? As in formal? Now, this isn't typical.

"Each one of you must find a partner of the opposite sex and tak one another."

**Juvia's P.O.V**

When Juvia heard this, she immediatly thought of Gray-sama. Oh, I hope Gray-sama chooses Juvia! Master continued speaking.

"Although, it's not just for Fairy Tail members, As long as a member is partnered up with them, it's fine." Juvia's eyes lit up. Juvia hopes she can gather up the confidence to ask Gray-sama within a week!

**Levy P.O.V**

Great. The one time i'm motivated, I don't have anyone to go with. I quickly scanned the room, glancing at each couple that I guessed would end up together. Alsack and Bisca (well, they're married with a daughter, so that's not much of a surprise), Lucy and Natsu, Maybe Erza and Gray... Or Lisanna and Natsu... But who would that leave Lucy with? Gajeel and... Hmm, Gajeel. I can't really pair him up with anyone. What if I... That's rediculous. I'd better get my head out of the clouds and into my novel.

**Erza's P.O.V**

A ball, huh? Well, they did say I was amazing at dancing. But who to go with? Damn. I can't see anyone worthy of my skill here. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.

**Lisanna's P.O.V**

Yay! A Ball! I glanced over at Natsu, who was looking out the window at something. I guess he'll be going with his _new _partner, Lucy. I guess I'm not sure if I should go.

**Evergreen's P.O.V**

Balls aren't really my thing (no dirty referance intended). I guess I should just ask Freed or something and go as friends.


	2. Lucy

**Hey, readers! This chapter is about how Lucy obtains her partner! I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 2, Lucy.

(Note that this is all in Lucy's point of view.)

I left the building. I wonder if i'll get asked by anyone...

"Lucy!" Natsu called, breaking my thoughts. I turned round to see him and Happy gleefully running towards me, waving a piece of paper in the air.

"We have this cool job!" Happy added, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"Hey, guys!" I called back. I decided to forget about the ball and focus on this months rent.

The two caught up with me excitedly and presented me with a job request involving yet another gang of bandits. There seemed to be alot of them around lately.

"What do you think?" Natsu gave a massive grin and asked.

"Sounds great! Where'e the location?" I sent him one back. We often exchange smiles like this, it's kind'a like our way of communicating.

"It's in one of Oak Town's forests. They thought they could go there since Phantom Lord's break up. They're so wrong! Right, Happy?"  
"Aye!" The blue exceed chorused. "It also means we need to take the train!"

"Wh-a-a-t?" Natsu's moment of bliss ended. "I thought we were walking the journey!" Natsu shrieked in horror.

"Natsu, if it's bandits we're facing, they'll know we're coming and retreat. We need to take the train!" I reminded him of the term, 'common sense'.

"Argg, fine." Natsu submitted, but just barely.

We finnaly met up with the other team members and boarded the train. We were all seated when the train started making it's way to our location. Everything ran smoothly until Natsu got agitated with his motion sickness and picked a fight with Gray. I sighed as the train made another stop. We were going to be in Oak town shortly. The repetitive noise of the train sent me into deep thoughts about the ball. Everyone in Fairy Tail seemed to already have a partner... I mean, there was always Natsu, but he's more like a brother to me then anyone else... The same with Gray, plus, I'm not prepared to face the wrath of Juvia. Just as my thoughts were about to trail onto other guilds, the train screeched to a stop.

"This is our stop." Erza stated, standing up with a start and confidently proceeding off the train. We all followed, wondering what lay ahead of us.

Oak town was of a medieval culture, it had lots of forestry and rural areas. The main part was situated on a hill, over-looking this scenery. A chill went down my spine as memories of the Phantom Lord guild came flooding back. 'They were all in the past' I keep telling myself. I really need to stop letting my mind drift away like that and get on with what I'm supposed to be doing.

"Okay. The group of bandits that we're looking for are known as the Bandits of the west. I'm guessing they're hiding out in the largest forest which is over there." Erza pointed a metal finger at a large forest that was just below the hill that then leads up to the town.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"I'm sure. Now let's go!" The group followed her into the deep forest.

I can't really describe the forest. It was... well, foresty. It was filled with trees and was earthy. I could hear a twig snap every so often when one of my team members stood on it, which emphasised the silence.

"Now, we split up." Erza ordered.

"Wha-a-t?" This time it was my turn to protest.

"Lucy, it's a large forest and if we stay as a group, there's less of a chance we'll find them."  
"I can't go alone! It's dark and spooky and they might sneak up on me!" I squealed. Although my argument was clearly valid, they still refused to let me team up with someone. I pouted my lips and folded my arms.

"Fine." I said as our four team members departed in a different direction. They gave me a communication Lacrima, so I guess that made me feel a bit better.

I'd walked a fair distance. When I turned back, my nakama were no longer in sight. I was alone. I stopped for a rest, trying to convince myself I wasn't scared when I heard the snapping of another twig. I immediatly stood up and checked my surroundings. In the distance, I could see a tall figure walking slowly toward me. It must be a bandit! I ripped the set of keys off my belt and held them in front of me horizontally.

"Open, gate of the bull, Taurus!" I shouted as a magic circle appeared before me. Out jumped my spirit, Taurus, clutching his axe.

"What can I doo for you today, Looocy?" He asked, admiring my body. I was wearing my hair up and I was in a small dress so I can't blame him. I looked pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

"See that guy over there, attack!" I ordered.

"Feel my fierce mooooves!" Taurus shouted, running toward the approaching bandit, holding out his axe.

Boom! The harsh blow of magic sent my spirit hurtling toward me.

"Sorry, Lucy..." He said, disintegrating. Did that magic blast come from the bandit? How is he able to use it? The figure continued approaching. I wasn't sure what to do. Flee? or Attack? Fight? or Flight?

"Hey!" The voice shouted. At this point I could make out a face... It was... One of the twin Dragon slayers of Sabertooth... Sting Eucliffe! I froze in my position when I realized his identity. It was at the same point he realized mine.

"Lucy Heartfillia..."

I stood up straight, my eyebrows lowered. "I mistook you for a bandit... I appologize. But why are you in here in the first place?"

"Chill. I'm also looking for bandits... The Eastern bandits I belive they're called. What is a fragile person like you here all alone?" he patronized.

"I split up with my team to get a better chance of finding them."

"I see. I also admit I thought you were a bandi-"

"Freeze!" A bunch of people leaped from out of the trees and aimed guns at the two of us.

"Heh... I knew you guys were here. There's no point in attempting a surprise attack. Roar of the light dragon!" Like Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, Sting also has a breath attack. He lifted his hands up to his mouth and blew out a dazzling, light force of magic that soon knocked three of them unconsious. Instead of taking battle stance, he slipped his hands into his pockets calmly and stood there, anticipating the bandit's next move.

"What are you waiting for, Blondie, you 'gonna help me?"

"Erm.. Okay." I replied uneasily. Why would someone like Sting Eucliffe, a member of the strongest guild in Fiore need _my _help? "Open, gate of the archer, Sagitarius!" I chanted. Out from the magic circle leaped Sagitarius.

"What can I do for you today? Moshi-moshi!" He questioned.

"Fire arrows at those bandits!" I cried, still unsure why the light dragon slayer needed me and whether or not the bandits were from the East or the West.

"Swift kick of the light dragon!" Sting chanted. Light shrouded his left leg and assisted his hard kick, this time knowking yet another bandit out. At the same time, Sagittarius was firing countless arrows at the enemy, only managing to knock out a few of them. Bullets fired from out their pistols and sped past us. I decided to get sagitarius out of the danger and use my fleuve d'etoiles instead. I closed his gate and clutched my whip. I fearlessly ran towards the 5 remaining enemies and extended my weapon. Coils of Blue spurted out the end, hitting one of them on the arm and making them drop their gun. Sting saw this as a moment to finish him off and used his glowing breath attack to send him flying backwards. The four remaining stood there intimidated as me and Sting stood glaring.

"Lucy, use that spell you used in the grand magic games, we can do a unison raid!" Sting called to me. He was getting really involved in this fight. He then ran towards me, grabbed my hand and pulled me into a waltz position. I felt my cheeks go pink as my body pressed against his. I was confused as to why his personality suddenly changed from wary of me to... whatever this is. The bandits aimed their guns and readied their fire. I could feel Sting's anticipation, so I hurriedly chanted my spell.

"Survey the Heaven, Open the Heaven... All the stars, far and wide... Show me thy appearance... With such shine. Oh Tetrabiblos... I am the ruler of the stars... Aspect became complete... Open thy malevolent gate." I Chanted. As I was murmering the incantation, I could hear Sting mutter a spell of his own. I closed my eyes and felt my magic power run through me.

"Oh 88 Stars of the heaven... Shine! Urano Metria!" I opened my eyes as my body became encased in a heavenly light.

"Ancient dragon slayer art, white blade of annihalation!"

The power combined created a spectrum of colour, blinding all but the casters. The combined power of the two of us was breath taking. I can barely describe it as it happened so fast. The last thing I saw was the remenants of the bandits falling like dead flies.

I was adamant to not let all daylight hit me at once. I half-opened my eyes, then closed them... I repeated the process until the faded picture made sense. I must have passed out from using too much magic. I was lying there in the forest. I looked up to see that Sting was still by my side, holding my weak body and preventing me from hitting the hard, earthy ground.

"S-Sting?" I called out pathetically.

"You're awake..." He said, sounding slightly relived.

"Thank you." I replied, realising what a gesture that was. He seemed to have outlived my expectations. I always thought of him as an arrogant, over-confident character, but now that I look more in depth, he's a nice person at heart.

"You okay?" He said, while still managing to sound cool.

"I'm fine." I replied, sitting up on his lap. I turned and smiled at him. Ofcourse, Sting wasn't used to this, so his eyes widened slightly before smiling bacdk at me.

"What do you say, shall we continue our mission?" His voice sounded like silk.

"Okay... Are you saying you want me to come with you?"

"Well, I can't just leave a helpless little girl in the forest like this." he teased. Ignoring that last comment, I stood up and brushed down my monochrome themed dress. I then turned to reveal that the bandits we fought earlier were behind us, tied up.

"How long was I out for?" I questioned, incase I had my team members worried.

"Not long." He said joining me. "By the way, the bandits were the western ones, so it's your turn to help me now." He grasped the end of the rope witholding the enemies and dragged it along behing him.

"Okay." I was relived that I'd helped my team complete something for once. It seemed that Sting had taken a sort of liking to me for some reason. I decided to go with it... In a way, I'd taken a small liking to him too.

"I heard there's a ball going on down at Fairy Tail in a few weeks. How lucky have you been?" He turned back to his usual personality.

"Not very..." I admitted.

"Strange. I thought that flame brain would be jumping all over you."

"No, we're just friends, Infact, more like siblings." I ensured. A small silence befalled us both before my communication lacrima started vibrating. I pulled out the blue orb to reveal Natsu trying to get in touch with me.

"Sting, it's Natsu, hide!" I called before answering.

"Hey, Lucy!" he grinned, "Caught any bandits yet?"

"Yep!" I turned the lacrima round to face the bandits entwined in rope.

"Wow! Well done, Lucy!" He sounded surprised.

"Thanks! Have you caught any?"

"Only three. I just spoke to Erza and Gray, they reckon we've caught them all. Meet you outside the forest." Before I had any time to reply, Natsu stopped their communication. I sighed, infuriated.

"It's okay, Blondie. I can handle them myself." Sting had obviously overheard the conversation and walked out from behind a nearby tree.

"You sure?" I asked, patronizingly, I then plucked up my courage. "I still need to pay pay you back... So why not come along to the ball?"

"We both know why I can't." He answered, seeing my face go red.

"Okay..." I said, disappointed. "See you!" I shouted, walking the opposite direction, dragging the hefty weight of the bandits behind me. What an idiot I must've looked. I hoped I'd never see him again.

"Wait!" he called from behind me. "I'll look into the details and come!" he shouted.

I pivoted around to see that his face was the same shade of red.

"Um... Okay! And thank you!" I called. As I was walking away to re-unite with the rest of team Natsu, I smiled from ear to ear, extatic that I had a partner.

**I hope that this chapter didn't go too fast, it's just that there wasn't any real connection between the two of them. I really like this pairing, even though it'll never happen. It's also the first time I've done Lucy's character, so I hope I got her right. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and there'll be more coming soon! Next Chapter: Juvia**


	3. Juvia

**Sorry if this is badly written or anything, I kind of rushed it because I haven't updated in a while. I hope you all enjoy anyway! :)**

Chapter 3, Juvia

Juvia was sitting two tables across from Gray-sama and his team. She was considering the options on how to ask...

Juvia elegantly ran across the room to Gray-sama's table.

"Gray-sama! Juvia loves you!"

"Juvia! I've always loved you too. I've always just been to scared to admit it!" Blushes fanned accross his ice-cold cheeks and his eyes filled with life. "I know that I can never be scared around you anymore!"

"Oh, Gray-sama!"

"Lucy, I hate you! Juvia is the only one for me! Come to the ball with me, Juvia, I beg you!"

"Yes, Gray-sama! Juvia will!"

"Let's get married!"

Just then, Juvia's dream was interrupted by the sweet sound of Gray-sama's real voice.

"Hey, guys. I've decided to go on a solo mission since I didn't really get to do much last time with Lucy catching almost all the bandits. How did you do that by the way?"

"Umm... It was... Taurus! I've really noticed a difference in his power lately." Juvia's love rival replied.

"I see. Well, I'm off to Freesia, apparently they've spotted a few bandits over there. See ya'!" Gray-sama stood up and walked over to Mira-san, who sent a message to the requester of the job saying he was coming, then he left. Juvia decided to go for a walk around Magnolia to pass the time until he got back.

Juvia walked along the paths of Magnolia, admiring the scenery. She stopped at a few shops and tourist attractions. Soon enough she was stuck in a day dream until she noticed the time. Gray-sama was probably back by now! Juvia needed to ask him before her love rival, Lucy! She hurried back along the route she came and eventually reached the guild. The guild was in view, she needed to get there and fast! Stretching one foot in front of another seemed harder than usual as she flung the doors open and screamed into the guild. "GRAY-SAMAAAAAA!" Juvia looked up to reveal lots of confused eyes staring up at her. Everyone stared for a minute at Juvia panting and leaning on the open door... Everyone exept Gray-sama.

"Hey, Juvia, Gray isn't back yet." Lisanna walked up to her and smiled warmly. Juvia continued panting as she went red in the face. A concerned Erza-chan strode up to Juvia.

"Juvia. It's okay, I'm going out to find him. I'm afraid he may be in some sort of trouble."

"Trouble? Juvia wants to go and help!"

"Are you sure, Juvia? It might be dangerous."

"Juvia is sure. She has something important to tell Gray-sama." She shot a quick look at her love rival, making sure she wasn't planning on doing the same.

"Fine, then. Me and Juvia will go and see if Gray's in trouble." She told Lisanna, who was standing by the door.

"Okay, be careful, you guys!"

"We will." Erza-chan then proceeded out of the guild building, her head held up high. Juvia nervously followed her from behind. The two reached the train station, bought their tickets and climbed abourd. Soon enough, they were at the town of Freesia.

-Back at the guild-

After Juvia and Erza left to find Gray, the guild members continued their buisness until the doors once again flew open.

"JUVIA-CHAAAAAAN!" A panting Lyon stood red-faced at the entrance of the guild, obviously tired for some reason.

"Juvia just left." Lisanna walked up and gave Lyon the same treatment as he did to Juvia.

"Where did she go?"

"She went to Freesia town with Erza to find Gray. They think he might be in some sort of danger."

"Damn that Gray... Always getting into trouble. What a weakling... I need to prove to Juvia-chan that I am stronger!" Lyon shouted, running out of the doors and to the train station.

"Poor Gray..." Lisana muttered under her breath when all had once again quietened down.

-Juvia's P.O.V-

The town of Freesia was beautiful, it looked almost untouched. Juvia could see that Erza-chan felt slightly in awe of the marvelous scenery also. It looked slightly romantic... Perfect! Waterfalls cascaded over rocks and flowed down to make a long, twisted river. Juvia loves water...

"Gray-sama! Come and paddle in this water with Juvia!"  
"Ofcourse!" Gray-sama runs gracefully towards the stream where Juvia's sitting and jumps in-

"Juvia! Focus on the task at hand!" Erza-chan ordered.

"Sumimasen, Erza-chan..." Juvia was following Erza-chan into a deep forest, The bandits were probably hiding out somewhere in there. Juvia will save Gray-sama, no matter what! Soon enough, Juvia and Erza-chan were enclosed in a large amount of trees. The vast blue sky peeped in through tiny gaps in their leaves, enabling just enough light to pass through so we could see were we where going. A few miles away, laughter could be heard, and the smell of smoke wafted past Juvia's nose. The bandits were close!

"Erza-chan, did you hear that?" Juvia questioned nervously.

"Yes. Let us go and find Gray!" Erza-chan started running toward the sound, not letting anything stop her. Juvia soon followed after. The sound was getting louder and louder until soon enough, Juvia and Erza-chan were hiding behind a tree, with the bandits in full view. Before us, in a large clearing, were the southern bandits. They had lit a campfire and beside it, stood Gray-sama tied to a pole!

"Let's set this wizard on fire!" cried what looked like the leader of them all. Juvia couldn't take it, four of the bandits lifted up the pole that Gray-sama was attached to and tossed him into the roaring flames!

"Water slicer!" Juvia chanted, leaping out from behind the tree and dousing the flames, just before Gray-sama landed on them. Soon enough, Erza-chan joined me.

"Re-quip!" She called as her armour switched to 'The knight'.

"It's the Titania, queen of the fairies!" The leader cried, helplessly. "Evacuate!" He then ordered in a panic.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Erza-chan yelled at him, chasing them before they could grab the rest of their loot. "Juvia, get Gray, meet me outside the forest!" She told me before sprinting off to find and capture them. Juvia carried out her orders and ran towards Gray-sama.

"Gray-sama, are you hurt?" Juvia asked, unteing the knot and helping him up.

"I guess I'm fine." Gray-sama replied uneasily, grasping his arm. Juvia noticed it had a small burn mark on it.

"Your arm..."

"It's fine, I get worse burns from fighting Natsu."

"Juvia will lead you out of the forest."

"Shouldn't we be helping Erza?"

"No. Erza-chan will be fine." Juvia said impatiently, wanting to spend some alone time with Gray-sama.

"Okay, we'll wait outside the forest for her." Gray-sama said, following Juvia to the river where they sat on a rock, overlooking the scenery. The sun was setting right before them.

"Juvia... Thanks." Gray-sama said to her as she went red in the face.

"You're welcome, Gray-sama."

"Why do you keep calling me Gray'-sama'? It's annoying."  
"Well... Because..." This was Juvia's big moment, "Juvia lov-"

"There you are, Juvia!" The two turned around to see Lyon running towards them.

"Grr..." Juvia muttered.

"Get lost, Lyon!" Gray-sam- no, just Gray yelled.

"I wanted to see Juvia!"  
"Well, I'm talking to her just now!"  
"Ice-make bird!" Lyon cast, birds flew towards the unsuspecting Ice wizard before he made his counter attack.

"Ice-make Lance!" Ice molded into the shape of lances went flying back. The two attacks hit in the middle, causing a small explosion. Juvia had enough of this argument.  
"Juvia loves Gray!" The fight stopped as heads turned towards the now embarassed Juvia...

"Juvia..." Gray muttered.

"But, Juvia-chan! I love you! I came all this way to ask you too the ball!" Lyon cried with heart-brocken expression.

"Sorry, Lyon." Juvia said quietly back. "Gray... Come to the ball with Juvia." She said distainfully, feeling terrible for what she said to Lyon. Juvia wanted to look at Gray, but she couldn't bear to see what he was thinking. All she could hear where the footsteps of Gray's rival walk away. Juvia stood with her head down, tears trickling down her face.

"Juvia..." Gray muttered.

"Yes, Gray?" Juvia tried to hide her shaky voice.

"I'll... Come to the ball with you." Juvia looked up in amazment, her face still wet, to see him smiling happily at her. Gray leaned forward, his icy hand caressing Juvia's cheek. Just before Juvia and Gray's lips touched, Erza came into view.

"I caught all of them! Time to go!"

"Great! Let's head for the train station!" Gray called back to her, looking slightly ashamed that he once again failed to catch anyone. Juvia held his hand, hoping this would make him feel better about his losses. The three of us headed back to Fairy Tail.

**I'm not really very good at long, cheesy romantic speeches because of my social awkuardness, so sorry if the romance parts aren't very good. Anyway, Thanks for reading and I hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter, Levy! **


	4. Levy

**Wow, this is such a cheesy chapter. It's not very well written either, so I appologize in advance. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy!**

* * *

Fairy Ball, chapter 4 - Levy.

"Jet, distract them as I attack! Levy, attack the ones I miss!" Droy ordered. Just as planned, Jet sprinted around the bandits which gave us two just enough time to attack.

"Solid script, fire!" I yelled, and just like that, the word 'fire' appeared in front of me and scorched one half of our enemies. I looked across at Droy, who was clearly getting tired.

"Knuckle plants!" he puffed, using the remains of his energy to toss plant seeds at the enemy which then sprouted seeds that grew large fists that soon knocked down another portion. There weren't many left.

"Falcon heavenward!" To complete our defeat, Jet sped elegantly towards the remaining concious theives and landed a swift kick, knocking them all out like dominos. Team Shadow gear had once again prevailed victorious.

I promised Lu-chan that I would meet her for breakfast at the guild the next day, so that morning I had to wake myself up, pull on my clothes and rush out of my dormitary at Fairy Hills until I entered homely guild that is Fairy Tail. From there I saw the curvatious Lucy sitting on a bar stool chatting to Mira and looking as happy as ever.

"Hey, Lu-chan!" I cried joyfully, causing her to look up and smile.

"Levy-chan! Glad you could make it!" she called back and waved. I sat down on the stool next to her and began talking.

"So, Lu-chan, have you found a date for the ball?"  
"Well, that's the thing. I need to talk to you about that." her happy expression turned to guilt as she leant in closer to me and whispered something horrifying into my ear.

"WHAT?!" I exclamed, causing her to blush violently.

"Please don't tell anyone!" she begged.

"Okay... But what are you going to do about... Natsu?" I quietened my tone slightly, which made her look a bit more at ease.

"Natsu?"  
"He can't stand the guy! He hates the mere sight of him! Let alone the sight of him with his best friend!"

"..." Lu-chan paused, unable to reply.

"Didn't think of that, did you?" I tried not to sound patronizing.

"Well, he said he'd look into it and do what he could!"

"Hmm..."

"Levy, please! I really need your support right now! I'm just as worried as you are!"

"Okay, Lu-chan, whatever you say. I'm going to put my faith in you as a friend. But remember, he killed his dragon parent, Weisslogia. And I don't know if he's the best guy to be around."

"You guys are talking quietly, what's up?" Mira skipped over, washing a glass.

"Nothing important." I replied distainfully, desperate to know what her oppinion would be if I told her. I'm sure it wouldn't be good.

"M'kay! As long as everything's fine!" She smiled, walking back over to Freed. Once we'd made sure she was completely engrosed in her conversation, we continued.

"It's not just Natsu that'll be furious, think about Gray and Erza!"

"Don't you think I've been over this already? I really like him! Isn't that all that matters? Can't _I _have something for once!?"

"Lu-" I tried to prevent her from storming out of the guild, but it was too late. Was I being too over protective? I decided to sit around for a bit longer and write my novel. Lucy needed to be left alone for a while.

The chiming of the clock startled me as I looked up to see that I'd speant almost all day sitting at the bar, writing. Almost everyone had left accept Cana, Gajeel, Macao, Laxus, Freed and Mira. I thought It was about time I got back, it was getting dark. I dismally packed away my writing utensils and my paper without saying a word before leaving. I was so gloomy infact that I didn't notice Gajeel walking up behind me.

"What's the matter, Squirt?" he asked, lifting me up by the back of my dress.

"Gajeel! Put me down!" I waved my arms and legs in the air in a struggle, but that only made him chuckle slightly.

"Whatever you say." He said, releasing his grip and causing me to fall on the pavement.

"Ouch! That hurt!" I tried to shout, looking down at my knees.

"Jeez. Well somethin's obviously up, so aren't you gonna' tell me?" he asked insensitively, crouching down to my level. He didn't notice the tears until I looked up.

"It's not as simple as that..." I shakily replied. He began to look confused so I attempted to explain.

"Some things aren't just a matter of explaining things straight out when someone asks, Gajeel."

"Then what is it a matter of? Girls are so complicated!"

"I'm going home." I'd had enough of his simple-mindedness and headed back to Fairy Hills where I entered my room, and with great difficulty fell asleep. Thoughts of Lucy and Sting filled me with worry that night, I wasn't sure what to do.

I was in the same gloomy mood the next morning. I thought 'sleeping on things' was supposed to help find a solution to problems. In this case, things just got worse. I wasn't sure about how to face Lu-chan, so I decided to go for a quick stroll before making my final decision on what to do. I walked from Fairy hills to the bridge leading over the fresh river. I decided to use the stone stucture as a bench, and perch on it until inspiration struck.

"So you're still in that mood, are ya'?" I turned my head to see none other than Gajeel. "Yeah..." I wasn't really sure about what else I could say at this point.

"Confiding in people helps, you know." He said, sitting next to me. I was quite surprised at him using the word 'confide', so this time it was my turn to look confused.

"It's... about Lucy... She's going to the ball with... someone. It just so happens that our guilds are enemies and I don't know whether to support her decision or not. I feel as if I'm being a bad friend for not supporting her, but at the same time, I'm scared she'll get hurt. I don't know what to do. At the moment, she's really mad at me... That's why I was a little shaken up yesterday."

"Oh... That explains a lot."

"Why are you so concerned about me?" I enquired nervously.

"Some things aren't just a matter of explaining things straight out when someone asks, Levy." he replied, grinning. His smile caught on to me almost contagiously.

"Finnaly! A smile!" he sounded relived. "Anyway, about Bunny girl... She's your friend, isn't she? I say you support her every decision. That's what friends are for, right? If she gets into trouble, you can always call on me to give the guy a beating, Geehee!" he said. My smile grew larger and larger. I almost gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Gajeel!" I shouted, running to the guild to find Lu-chan.

I finnaly found my way to the guild, puffing and panting, I opened the door to find Lucy sitting at the same stool she was sitting at yesterday. I approached her slowly.

"Hey, Lu-chan... Listen, I know you probably hate me right now, but I realized that I was wrong yesterday. I should've been a better friend and supported you straight away... I'm sorry!"

"Levy-chan... I'm sorry too. I acted up over nothing. You were only worrying about me. You're a great friend to me and I should be the one apologizing!" She stood up and hugged me. I hugged her back, not realizing that Gajeel was yet again behind me.

"Levy... I was... Erm..." I'd never seen him look so embarassed before. His expression once again caught on to me. I knew what he was asking.

"Yeah..." I answered to save him the trouble of finishing the sentance.

"Okay. See you." He replied, swiftly walked away. Lu-chan and I looked at eachother and smiled from ear to ear.

* * *

**Next chapter: Erza****.**


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